A blog for all seasons; A blog for one; A blog for all. As the 11th most informative blog on the planet, I have a seared memory of throwing my Time 2006 Man of the Year Award over the railing at Time Warner Center.
Justice. Only Justice Shall Thou Pursue

Monday, August 02, 2010

Terrorists' Rockets Slam Into Israeli and Jordanian Red Sea Resorts

One rocket hit in Jordan's Aqaba on a main street in front of the Intercontinental Hotel, killing a taxi driver, Information Minister Ali Ayed told The Associated Press. Four other Jordanians were injured, Ayed said.

"The Grad rocket landed in a public street near a major five-star hotel and caused four injuries, with three persons lightly wounded and the other casualty in serious condition," a Jordanian interior ministry source told Reuters.

Asked where the Aqaba rocket was fired, he said without elaborating: "It came from the west." Experts were investigating the site to find out where the short-range Grad rocket had been launched, he said.

It appears that the rockets were fired from the Egyptian side of the Israel-Egypt border. This isn't the first attack in recent months, and it suggests that terrorist groups are utilizing Egypt's Sinai Peninsula to carry out attacks against the Israelis. That the rocket hit Jordan's Aqaba may have been the result of the unguided rocket being aimed incorrectly - that the target of all the rockets were Israel.

Yet, now that Jordan was hit by those rockets, the Jordanians may pressure Egypt to increase security further to crack down on terrorists using the Sinai to carry out attacks, lest they hit the Jordanians.

A Grad rocket is a larger version of the kassam rockets that Hamas typically uses to carry out attacks from Gaza.